30th Mar 26 | 13:54
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Luke 24 50-53 THE BLESSING OF GOD 16 28May2022 Luke 24 50-51 Have dominion
📖 Luke 24:50-53
16 – 28May2022 – Have dominion - Luke 24:50-53 - THE BLESSING OF GOD - Bible reading: Genesis 1:26-27
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the blessing with which You have blessed us. We can now appropriate and live out Your blessing. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
Luke 24:50-51 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. (51) Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
We continue to study the creation blessing.
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
We have covered four dimensions of the creation blessing. The first group consists of, being fruitful and multiplying. The second group of, to fill the earth and subdue it. We will now explore the fifth dimension of the creation blessing, which is to have dominion.
God created man to have dominion. This is the creation mandate.
Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Man was created as a representative of God in terms of God’s communicable qualities, God’s spirituality for God is Spirit, and to carry out God’s purpose. Man was made out of the dust, yet was also Spirit.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Man was also created, male and female. They were to appreciate, respect and embrace one another’s distinctiveness, in order to combine and live out the image of God. One was not superior over the other.
As male and female, man, was to have dominion over all of God’s creation. All of God’s creation includes people, society, community, culture, work, arts, sports, science, worship of God, governance, and nature.
Man was created to function out of one platform, of being in the image of God and having dominion over all of God’s creation.
Psalms 8:3-6 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, (4) What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? (5) For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. (6) You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
The creation of man was glorious. Man was to be God’s vice-regent, who was crowned with glory and honour. Man was to co-rule under and with God, over His creation. Man was to be in an intimate fellowship with God and out of that fellowship, he was to produce the result that was intended of him.
The framework or the roadmap for man, to execute God’s purpose, is the creation blessing. The first four dimensions of the creation blessing were intended to enable man to complete the final aspect, which is to have dominion.
We are here on earth to have dominion over all of God’s creation, in the image of God. This is the basic and fundamental purpose of God creating man. Revelation, too, gives us the same understanding.
Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." / Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
We are kings and priests to our God. Our walk with God (holiness) and our task of being kings, are inseparable.
Peter summarises for us, our mission here on earth.
I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
We were once in darkness, ignorance, foolishness and in a state of death. The Lord restored us to Himself and has reinstated us, to fulfil the primary purpose for which we were created. We cannot remain satisfied that we have been saved by grace, but we must get back to accomplish our primary purpose, by His grace through faith.
Our world is under the control of the evil one.
I John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
How did this happen? It happened because of our sin. When we chose to reject and rebel against God and sought to be independent of God, we actually became the slaves and prisoners of the devil.
Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, (15) and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
We will see how God has set us free so that we will once again fulfil the creation mandate.
Thought to ponder
Are you consciously a part of the larger canvas of God’s plan?